Who will be Derrick Henry’s replacement?

By: Jake Rajala

Derrick Henry has been one of the most dominant running backs – alongside Saquon Barkley. Henry ran for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. He has been quite a superb fit in an Baltimore Ravens offense that has a quarterback named Lamar Jackson, who is a threat to run with the football. Jackson led the Ravens in rushing yards in five of the past six seasons. With that said, father-time catches up to everyone, especially running backs. Hence, a pivotal question surrounds the Ravens: should they draft Henry’s placement?

I believe it would be wise for Baltimore to draft his replacement in this draft or the next draft. Not only is he 31 years old, but he’s getting more carries than anyone else. He is still first in breakaway runs and sixth in evaded tackles, according to Player Profiler. However, he is also tenth in the league in yards before contact. A lot of RBs would create damage if they had many yards before contact. It is still scary that a 6’4 220 lb ball-carrier with a head full of steam will wreak a lot of havoc.

Henry isn’t the most complete RB. He only had 19 catches last season. It would be quite meaningful if the Ravens could have an all-purpose RB like Alvin Kamara or Christian McCaffrey for screens and short routes. It should also be noted that the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are quite potent in stopping the run. The Ravens simply have to have a more versatile RB alongside Henry to hurt playoff contenders.

It makes sense for the Ravens to ink free agent J.K. Dobbins, who has a plethora of experience in the Ravens offense. Dobbins ran for 905 yards last season, while averaging 4.6 YPC. He is also 26, so he has a few more years left in the tank. He earned second team in CPOY last season.

It’s especially vital that the Ravens bring in a younger, dominant RB, because they shouldn’t lean on Lamar too much. Dual threat QBs tend to not play until the age of 40.

Henry and Lamar will simply enjoy longer careers if they bring in a RB2 that fits the scheme and offers a skillset they are missing. I believe they don’t really need to answer this hole in this upcoming draft, but it would be wise in the 2027 draft.